SACRAMENTO, Calif. (February 15, 2025) – For one final time at 'The Nest', NAU Basketball earned a 65-61 win over the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday afternoon, extending the Jacks win streak over Sacramento State to five-straight.
"All around a great team effort tonight, our bench played their hearts out tonight," head coach
Shane Burcar said. "Our guys are tough, we're trying to figure some things out and we fought our way back today, I liked how we finished the game."
Following an 0-2 start from the field,
Diego Campisano would kickstart NAU's strong offensive start and put the Jacks on the board at the 17:03 mark, as Sacramento State started 2-2 from the field for an early lead.
Trent McLaughlin tied the game for the first time at 16-16 with a driving layup off the
Carson Towt assist just ahead of the under-12 media break. NAU started 6-for-10 from the field in comparison to Sacramento State's 8-of-12 start from the field. Coming out of the timeout, Campisano would earn the Lumberjacks first lead of the game with 10:20 to go in the half as McLaughlin found him for the three-pointer while holding the Hornets scoreless for three minutes.
Back-to-back triples from
Dillan Baker and McLaughlin put the Jacks on a 10-0 run, forcing the Hornets into a timeout as NAU led 29-21 with 4:25 remaining in the first frame.
Northern Arizona took a ten-point lead into the locker rooms at halftime, holding a 36-26 advantage over the Hornets. McLaughlin led the Jacks with 10, adding three assists and two steals. Towt closely followed with eight points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The Jacks held the advantage on the glass, 15-11. NAU shot 53.8 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range, while holding the Hornets to 44.0 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Coming out of the break, Sacramento State started off the half 3-3 from the field to shorten their deficit to just three, 36-33. The Hornets would extend the run to 14-0, taking a 40-36 lead over NAU, forcing the Jacks to take a timeout with 15:40 on the clock. Coming out of the timeout, McLaughlin hit his second three-pointer to bring the Jacks back within one, trailing the Hornets 40-39.
Breaking the 40-40 tie and capitalizing off three consecutive turnovers from Sacramento State,
Ryan Abelman brought the lead back for the Jacks with a mid-range jumper and one at the line, following up with a three-pointer to grab a 46-42 lead at the under-12 media timeout.
With a 60-55 cushion in favor of the Lumberjacks, Sacramento State entered the bonus with 4:38 to play in a game that would come down to the wire. With 3:11 remaining coming out of the final media break, McLaughlin hits the mid-range fadeaway shot to bring NAU to a 62-57 lead. Baker gave the Jacks a 64-61 lead at the line with :14 seconds to play as Sacramento State missed their final attempt to give the Jacks their sixth Big Sky victory of the year.
As the team finished 42.6 percent from the field, McLaughlin led the jacks with 20 points, followed by Towt's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Towt's 18
th double-double performance of the season was just one rebound shy of hitting 1,000 in his career, in addition to six assists and four steals. Abelman picked up 10 points while shooting 75.0 percent from the field. The Jacks led bench points 21-4, as Baker recorded his career high of nine points while shooting 50.0 percent from the field. Bowser and Campisano each picked up five points while
Leigh Rickwood-Pitt recorded two.
Northern Arizona will return to Flagstaff for a three-game home stretch, hosting Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Northern Colorado before heading to Pocatello for a matchup with Idaho State to round out the regular season. To stay up to date with NAU Basketball, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
